WInd Surf after refurb

[BeignetBoy]

Any comments on Wind Surf after the remodeling.  We are booked on an Eastbound TA from St Maarten to Lisbon in early April and would love to hear any comments about the ship after the recent remodeling,   

 

We are looking forward to our trip.

 

Thanks.

[Strenz]

We just off our favorite ship the Surf and we thought she looks great. Lounge is nice with no casino and a new positioning of the dance floor, very pretty furniture. Furniture and parts of the Yacht Club refurbished. Some new furniture in the Compass Rose. New hall rugs. Some rooms redone but I did not see them. For an old lady I thought she look great and she is great. We had a wonderful time. Happy Sailing.

[Chipshot from Michigan]

 

[jumelle]

I am truly shocked that they would leave port with all that trash on board.

[Chipshot from Michigan]

8 hours ago, jumelle said:

I am truly shocked that they would leave port with all that trash on board.

To Windstar's credit, they didn't rope off the forward decks to prevent guests from seeing the truth.  And weeks of cruising weren't lost, unlike the Surf's unmasted brethren.

[cruisencrazy]

There is still much work to be done.  

[Chipshot from Michigan]

29 minutes ago, cruisencrazy said:

There is still much work to be done.  

 

She is showing the effects of years of use.  I have been on other older ships that displayed patina while not feeling neglected.

 

While the modern bridge navigation hardware and software were impressive, threadworn carpet and rusty ventilation grates were obvious misses.  I really wish the sails worked as before.  They're a big reason for our choosing Windstar.

[sb44]

The new spa is beautiful. Lovely colors, nice treatment rooms, light, bright and convenient outside the bridge by Compass Rose. The lounge is updated but still needs some adjustment to the sound system and the piano in the middle of the stage blocks the big screen but there are two others.  They are addressing with a new sound system. The 3rd deck living rooms that have been turned back in to regular cabins are fresh and new feeling.  The yacht club furniture is new and very comfortable.  Friends were on decks two and three and said everything was clean even though not remodeled. Amphora unchanged. I would say maybe the refurb was a little hyped but we love this ship so maybe we are biased. There was nothing that would keep us from jumping back on board today.

[Misty Morning]

Looking forward to see the changes.  We were on the Surf in Feb 2019 and are going back in March so we'll be able to appreciate first hand what they've done

[2LoveToTravel]

Looking forward to being back on board on March 7....our 24th voyage on Windstar. Our favorite ship is Windsurf. She is a great old lady, and truly unique in the industry. While it will be nice to see the updates, the subtle changes will not change our appreciation of the warmth of the crew, the vast outdoor space for such a small ship, and the overall ambiance. We have been on many different cruise lines over the years....but not without a return to Windsurf and the Windstar ships.

[Misty Morning]

6 hours ago, 2LoveToTravel said:

Looking forward to being back on board on March 7....our 24th voyage on Windstar. Our favorite ship is Windsurf. She is a great old lady, and truly unique in the industry. While it will be nice to see the updates, the subtle changes will not change our appreciation of the warmth of the crew, the vast outdoor space for such a small ship, and the overall ambiance. We have been on many different cruise lines over the years....but not without a return to Windsurf and the Windstar ships.

We'll be on the same cruise ourselves.  Looking forward to this modified Yachtsman Caribbean itinerary with Anguilla thrown in as an additional port

[Chipshot from Michigan]

1 hour ago, Misty Morning said:

We'll be on the same cruise ourselves.  Looking forward to this modified Yachtsman Caribbean itinerary with Anguilla thrown in as an additional port

We enjoyed Anguilla during our December cruise.

[Misty Morning]

53 minutes ago, Chipshot from Michigan said:

We enjoyed Anguilla during our December cruise.

 

Straw Hat on Meads Bay, great place.  We will be giving Trattoria Tramonto a try on Shoal Bay West, which we have never been too. (it was still closed for repairs following Irma  when we last went in nov 2018).  There are no lousy beaches in Anguilla and most of them have chairs, restaurants and no crowds.

[Chipshot from Michigan]

1 hour ago, Misty Morning said:

Straw Hat on Meads Bay, great place.

Yes it is.  Very welcoming.  This is from down the beach a bit, in front of the Four Seasons.  I'm kind of surprised my wife hasn't already made a reservation there.

[Misty Morning]

On 2/3/2020 at 10:14 PM, Strenz said:

We just off our favorite ship the Surf and we thought she looks great. Lounge is nice with no casino and a new positioning of the dance floor, very pretty furniture. Furniture and parts of the Yacht Club refurbished. Some new furniture in the Compass Rose. New hall rugs. Some rooms redone but I did not see them. For an old lady I thought she look great and she is great. We had a wonderful time. Happy Sailing.

Strenz,

 

Wanted to find out how you liked the Bridgetown to Aruba section of the cruise especially the Soufriere  and Man O War bay stops in St Lucia & Tobago.  We were thinking about this itinerary but could not make it but it's coming back in 2022 so wanted to hear it from someone who was there.  (The Surf is doing the same 58-day Around the Caribbean cruise again in 2022)

[Strenz]

Hi Misty Morning, We really liked that part of the trip better than the first part. I loved Soufriere. It was an authentic town. We went  to Hotel Chocolate to learn to make chocolate and have lunch in a magical setting practically in the Piton! I would have loved to go to some of the beaches which I hear are great. I love Bonaire we ended up going to the Delfine Hotel,  where there is a Michelin 3 star truck stop. Nice beach but you have to have water shoes  due to the coral. Lovely town. Great pool, beautiful setting. I loved  Curaçao great walking, it was very hot we took a long walk to the markets so I did not have the energy to  go to the beach. Beautiful docking area looking out over the beautiful town.Great Sail Away going out of the canal. Tobago is very small and lovely the beach is near by, I should have taken a tour. Mayreau of course, fabulous beach. We did not stay in Aruba it is my least favorite island any where. Too commercial. So many casinos we are not casino people. The Caribbean is the beach and nature for me. I spent many times sailing the Caribbean with my father. For us it was a great 14 days. I wish we could do the 56 days, get out of the New England cold even though we have had an extremely mild winter. I would do that trip again on the Surf, our favorite ship, in a minute. Have fun and Happy Sailing.

[minidonuts85]

Misty-How funny you asked about that itinerary...we were just looking at it last night and might book it today.

 

Strenz-Thanks for the overview. We stopped in Soufriere awhile back as part of an island tour and thought it was our favorite part of the day. We had the best coconut bread from a lady selling it at the Toraille waterfall.

Edited February 14, 2020 by minidonuts85

[Ski Mom 2]

On 2/13/2020 at 6:16 PM, Strenz said:

Hi Misty Morning, We really liked that part of the trip better than the first part. I loved Soufriere. It was an authentic town. We went  to Hotel Chocolate to learn to make chocolate and have lunch in a magical setting practically in the Piton! I would have loved to go to some of the beaches which I hear are great. I love Bonaire we ended up going to the Delfine Hotel,  where there is a Michelin 3 star truck stop. Nice beach but you have to have water shoes  due to the coral. Lovely town. Great pool, beautiful setting. I loved  Curacao great walking, it was very hot we took a long walk to the markets so I did not have the energy to  go to the beach. Beautiful docking area looking out over the beautiful town.Great Sail Away going out of the canal. Tobago is very small and lovely the beach is near by, I should have taken a tour. Mayreau of course, fabulous beach. We did not stay in Aruba it is my least favorite island any where. Too commercial. So many casinos we are not casino people. The Caribbean is the beach and nature for me. I spent many times sailing the Caribbean with my father. For us it was a great 14 days. I wish we could do the 56 days, get out of the New England cold even though we have had an extremely mild winter. I would do that trip again on the Surf, our favorite ship, in a minute. Have fun and Happy Sailing.

We were on both cruises with Strenz (it was so fun getting to know her!) and I have to agree with her, the second cruise was our favorite of the two.

 

Here's what we did:

 

Soufrierre was an easy walking town and we visited a nice waterfront bar for a beer and to relax with a bit of wifi. Then we stumbled upon Orlando's Restaurant and had the most wonderful lunch with the chef! Wind Surf was suppose to have a tour cooking with Orlando but they canceled at the last minute. (Not good Windstar!) We didn't realize there was a tour but just got lucky on our walk that we passed his place. Simply ingredients cooked in the most delightful way. There was only one other couple and so we had plenty of time to chat with Orlando and his staff and really connected. I can't recommend his restaurant enough.

 

Mayreau was our beach picnic on both cruises. The beach is beautiful and it was fun just to float on the water but beware of the strong sun that will go right through the water! We had another wonderful experience with Dennis from Dennis Hideaway right at the pier. The first picnic we stopped for a rum punch and got to talking to Dennis. When we had to leave we told him we would be back in just a few days (for the second beach picnic) and he said he would cook lunch for us. After lounging in the water for a bit on the second picnic, we wandered over to see Dennis and he was all ready for us, our table was set and out came the delicious fish soup for my husband and chicken for me. More rum punches, a few beers and GREAT conversation followed. Dennis has a great story and we enjoyed sharing our life experiences with him too. All too soon, we realized the last tender was ready to go and we were the last two people to get back to the ship. It was a great day!

 

On Tobago we took the tour to the waterfall. Unfortunately there was a large cruise ship in at another port and the waterfall was mobbed. Luckily our tour gal walked fast and got us to the waterfall first and my husband was able to get into the pool before the mob. There isn't anything really to see at the port although we did have a beer at one of the bars (but no wifi). This was probably our least favorite port although the locals were lovely.

 

We picked this cruise because of the ABC islands. Bonaire was probably our favorite. We took the glass bottom boat tour (I'm not a snorkeler) and afterwards we walked around the cute shops. This was a late night since it was the on deck BBQ and we took advantage by going out to dinner in Bonaire with another couple we met on board. We had a fabulous dinner and were so happy we skipped the BBQ and took advantage of being in Bonaire for dinner.

 

Curacao was nice too and we did a walking tour through the ship and then wandered on our own and had lunch. There were several shops with local art that we visited including a museum of art that was fascinating.

 

We stayed in Aruba for 2 nights following our cruise since this was really the island I've wanted to see. I didn't realize Aruba is mostly timeshares which was a bit odd but we met some nice people and had some yummy dinners. It was pretty windy there but it helped with the heat.

[minidonuts85]

14 hours ago, Ski Mom 2 said:

We were on both cruises with Strenz (it was so fun getting to know her!) and I have to agree with her, the second cruise was our favorite of the two.

 

Here's what we did:

 

Soufrierre was an easy walking town and we visited a nice waterfront bar for a beer and to relax with a bit of wifi. Then we stumbled upon Orlando's Restaurant and had the most wonderful lunch with the chef! Wind Surf was suppose to have a tour cooking with Orlando but they canceled at the last minute. (Not good Windstar!) We didn't realize there was a tour but just got lucky on our walk that we passed his place. Simply ingredients cooked in the most delightful way. There was only one other couple and so we had plenty of time to chat with Orlando and his staff and really connected. I can't recommend his restaurant enough.

 

Mayreau was our beach picnic on both cruises. The beach is beautiful and it was fun just to float on the water but beware of the strong sun that will go right through the water! We had another wonderful experience with Dennis from Dennis Hideaway right at the pier. The first picnic we stopped for a rum punch and got to talking to Dennis. When we had to leave we told him we would be back in just a few days (for the second beach picnic) and he said he would cook lunch for us. After lounging in the water for a bit on the second picnic, we wandered over to see Dennis and he was all ready for us, our table was set and out came the delicious fish soup for my husband and chicken for me. More rum punches, a few beers and GREAT conversation followed. Dennis has a great story and we enjoyed sharing our life experiences with him too. All too soon, we realized the last tender was ready to go and we were the last two people to get back to the ship. It was a great day!

 

On Tobago we took the tour to the waterfall. Unfortunately there was a large cruise ship in at another port and the waterfall was mobbed. Luckily our tour gal walked fast and got us to the waterfall first and my husband was able to get into the pool before the mob. There isn't anything really to see at the port although we did have a beer at one of the bars (but no wifi). This was probably our least favorite port although the locals were lovely.

 

We picked this cruise because of the ABC islands. Bonaire was probably our favorite. We took the glass bottom boat tour (I'm not a snorkeler) and afterwards we walked around the cute shops. This was a late night since it was the on deck BBQ and we took advantage by going out to dinner in Bonaire with another couple we met on board. We had a fabulous dinner and were so happy we skipped the BBQ and took advantage of being in Bonaire for dinner.

 

Curacao was nice too and we did a walking tour through the ship and then wandered on our own and had lunch. There were several shops with local art that we visited including a museum of art that was fascinating.

 

We stayed in Aruba for 2 nights following our cruise since this was really the island I've wanted to see. I didn't realize Aruba is mostly timeshares which was a bit odd but we met some nice people and had some yummy dinners. It was pretty windy there but it helped with the heat.

Great overview! We have a cabin on hold for the 2022 ABC/Tobago sailing. Where did you stay in Aruba?

[Ski Mom 2]

We stayed at the Renaissance Aruba Resort & Casino in their Ocean Suites. They have two locations that are almost next to each other. Ocean Suites has small views of the ocean and is located "on the ocean" versus the other that is more in the "downtown" area. That being said, we stayed there for a couple of reasons: 1. It was one of the few places I could find that didn't have a 3-7 night minimum; 2. I wanted to be "on the beach" but that's pretty hard in Aruba if you're not at a place that wants 7 nights; 3. I had a Marriott discount to make the room somewhat affordable.

 

What I didn't know was that location is mostly a timeshare place. There are only a few rooms that they rent out as a hotel room. Most people have been coming for "their timeshare week" for years and years. So the ocean view was pretty hard to come by. The food was only so-so which meant we went out to dinner elsewhere both nights we were there (which was a good thing).

 

The best part of the hotel was Renaissance Island. It is their private island that only guests can get too (although they sell a handful of day passes every morning I guess). It is a 15 minute boat ride over to the island. We splurged and I rented us a cabana on Flamingo Island for the day. It was wonderful and well worth the money. We loved our day on the island. Here I am enjoying our hammock over the water 🙂

 

Places we ate dinner (all within walking distance) were:

 

Pinchos (walk to the right when you exit the hotel and it's the second restaurant you come to). West Deck is the first and it has some good recommendations but since we didn't have a reservation they wanted to stick us at a bad table so we kept walking to Pinchos. Without reservations there we were able to sit at the bar for drinks and food. The bartenders were friendly as well as the other folks sitting at the bar.

 

Italy In The World Wine Restaurant (walk straight out the exit of the hotel across the street). Fantastic place with only 10 tables. You need a reservation or maybe go later to get in. All homemade and cooked to order food and the wine was incredible. The owner came there from Italy over 20 years ago and he brought over about 7-8 bottles of wine for us to look at and to choose from. The prosciutto, mozzarella bruschetta appetizer was to die for! And the rest of the food was very good.

 

The Dutch Pancake House (right next door in the shopping center) was great for breakfast. Get there early to get a seat. 

 

[Chipshot from Michigan]

1 hour ago, Ski Mom 2 said:

The best part of the hotel was Renaissance Island. It is their private island that only guests can get too (although they sell a handful of day passes every morning I guess). It is a 15 minute boat ride over to the island. We splurged and I rented us a cabana on Flamingo Island for the day. It was wonderful and well worth the money. We loved our day on the island. Here I am enjoying our hammock over the water 🙂

 

Next stop, French Polynesia?

[minidonuts85]

Thanks Ski Mom! I see that it is located near the cruise port. This looks like a good option and I was also considering the Hilton at Palm Beach as it appears they will allow one night and I can pad it with points.  How was the beach off of the hotel? Unfortunately we only have one to spend there before we head home the next day.

 

[Ski Mom 2]

Yes we walked from the ship to the hotel. Well actually we walked to the other one and took the shuttle to the ocean suites one. We were suppose to have a prearranged taxi driver meet us for a tour of the island but customs took over two hours to process all of our passports to allow us off the ship so we missed that tour. 
 

There really is no beach at the ocean suites. The pool is nice and has lots of surrounding sand area and they have big rocks to form a small body of ocean water but really no beach. 
 

Their private island has more of a lagoon and the beach is part of the lagoon so no crazy ocean waves. Here we are with the flamingos looking out over the lagoon towards the rocks where the ocean is on the other side. Hope this helps!

[minidonuts85]

@Ski Mom 2 Awesome pic! Love the flamingos and yes, very helpful! thank you!

[Second seating]

"Next stop, French Polynesia?"

 

Yes!  We have done 4 French Polynesia cruises and Windstar was the best!